Seems like I am hearing of an awfull lot of trouble with Polaris. From bad coils that leave you (us) on the trail, fuel lines rubbing, front diff vent lines not there, new carbs running too rich or too lean. I don't read alot of " man this quad is awesome." I happen to like mine. I like the motor, the suspension, everything really. The only flaw is not being able to go from low to high without almost stopping. The rincon is attractive in that aspect.
My fear is getting left on the trail again by something polaris is aware of, but hasn't let me know of yet. If I miss a day of forums, I might miss the next issue. I guess I am looking for some long time polaris owners to put my mind at ease.
thanks,

 

i have been along time polaris man......always was always will be......the good definatly out way the bad in my case.....not every machine is perfect, i myself always turn here for help, allthough every weekend i have a great time..and sometimes post how much fun it was and how much i love my polaris's......


I do love my efi, i love the power the ride..the handleing.....i love it all...i love the machine...and i think polaris has done a good job on building it, i just have bad luck...

i have some friends that own a dealer ship they live 3 or so hours away....and they come up to ride some times....and they tell me and my buds who alll have efi's that were nuts....which we are...we honestly should have predators for the trail riding we do...then have the efi's waiting at the mud holes ahah.......polaris builds one tough machine.....and we all happy...the issues that i have had are minor to the fun i have on it......and in my book you can not put a price on fun.......if i could have somone follow us on our efi's for a weekend....i think most of you guys would prolly agree that we do ride very very agressive....ahha whatever that means....

But i am very proud to own a polaris, and i think if i had a yamy or a kawi that i would have had it broken in half by now....

i ride with a griz and you can just look at the machine and see its not built as well as a polaris...at least in my eyes...

i hope this helps....

 

well most people come on here to discuss a problem or issue and not to say that their machine is running well...but i think polaris is the right choice...pending on what you want though///...

 

Hey Coonass,

Don't forget to check for the pinched spark plug wire.

Anyway, I have an 03 Trail Boss and have not had any problems that I can remember.

Have you checked/had any of the problems you mention from the other threads? You are wise to look for them. I don't think you'll be screwed if you miss a day on the Forum. Do check in and keep an eye open. It is unfortunate the problems you have read about. All I can say is my friends with quads (other brands) in your class have had very little problems with them. Their quads do seem to get old quick - sloppy steering, suspention and such. I think you have a very good quality machuine, maintain it. I ride hard and look it over hard too.

Can't say I've read about the new carbs being out. Oh yeah, your quad really is awesome.

Lukester

 

NO REGRETS HERE. I've had my SP500HO since early this year and I love it. No problems thus far, runs great, love the IRS. Recently after riding rough trails for a total of 9hrs (only 2 short stops) the guys on Quads without IRS were "hovering" over their seats because their butts and lower backs were sore. I was the only one (out of 6) with IRS and I was doing fine.

Personally I havent seen any of the problems people complain about. Dont get me wrong, I'm sure many are legit but someone crying "my buddies Polaris is always in the shop" doesnt cut it for me. The guys that own them and complain, get a little more credit. I know a guys with a POS Yamaha that always breaks down but I dont badmouth Yamaha, why? Because he beats the royal crap out of it and doesnt do any maintenance. Tha's why his quad is always breaking, not because Yamaha is crap. Get my drift?

 

i asked the same question before getting my first sportsman ... my friend has two 99 500's and love them, one has 6000 miles on it and only changed the belt twice! I can't say enough about how happy i've been with my 2004.5 500! I think polaris and honda are on the same par.

 

I do like my SP400. It has a smooth motor and a great ride. There are a lot of great things about the Sportsman. However, it does **** me off that Polaris doesn't do the R&D that the other comapnies do. Honda, for example, would never let one out the door that was jetted too rich for sea level, had a pinched coil wire and a fuel pump that works sometimes. And to know about the problems and not even tell the customer really gets me.

Guess the bottom line is that it's a good design, poorly executed. As much as I like it, if I were to be shopping for a new one today I wouldn't consider Polaris based on my experience.

 

Coonass500ho, I don't know about you or anyone else but Polaris was the right choice for me. When you say high to low, the rincon does not have a low range. I don't know of any quad you can go from high to low range without stopping. There are tens of thousands of people that ride Polaris quads that don't use these forums, that don't worry about having problems with their machine and probably don't. Most people that come here are either looking for a answer to a problem or advice on some mod that they are thinking about doing to their quad. The guy that has no trouble or not thinking of doing any mods will not post but kick back and just read the post of others. If he can help answer a question or be of some help to someone then he will post. I said it before and I'll say it again, I have two 2002 Polaris quads and have had no problems with either one. I don't see myself ever going to another brand of quad. My Polaris quads have been to good to me. Another person, could be another story. All I can tell you is what I know from my own experience with Polaris quads.

 

My 02 700 is a beast. Only had the leaky water pump done on recall and that's it.

I plow my whole street for the last few years.
Do all my yard work with it, hauling tons of top soil, junk.
Do lots of trail work with it. I was the only quad that coulld haul the big logs on the family property this year. All the other machines couldn't handle it. The hondus just watched..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
I do all the towing for the break downs on our yearly BIG trip. And let me tell you, I do lots of towing for miles. Mostly hondas so far...

My machine is a beast, my girl wants it when I upgrade to the 800..........

 

I have to agree with sigarms229. I just purchased a 2005 500HO Sportsman. I have had many quads in the past from sportbikes to work horses so I have seen just about everything break down. It all boils down to how you maintain your bike to determine how long it is going to last. Every bike has its little problems here and there. The main reason why I chose the polaris is it fit perfect for what I was going to use it for. I use it for Bowhunting and Farm work 75% of the time and occasionally trailride with the old lady. I liked the Hondas but they all feel small to me as far as seat room. Not much rack room either. I did not like the yamaha's for they felt unstable to me when riding on sides of hills. Some ask how often will you actualy do that??? All the time especially going down a steep revine to get a deer out. You can't always go straight down and out so this was a concern for me. The Kawasaki Praire/Bruteforce was my runner up but I needed a quiet quad. The power was awesome, the exuast was not to bad but after ten minutes of hearing that annoying noisy transmission whine that did it for the Kawasaki. So I chose the sportsman because to me I felt it had plenty of Quiet Power, great ride with the IRS and it felt very stable and wide for such a big machine which has lots of room and storage. Sorry for babbling so much!
I think you made a good decision take care of it and do your regular maintenance.